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Political Activism?
Dear Mr. Wilson:
I am in a quandary. Do you
think Christians should become involved in their
political unrest that is brewing in our country?
I believe that our country is in serious trouble.
I also believe that we are facing several
problems that will require painful solutions. I
am wondering what I can do, if anything. Do you
think Christians should participate in political
movements like the “Tea Party?”
Sincerely,
JoAnn
__________________________________________________________
Dear JoAnn:
Thank you for your email.
You are not alone in your quandary. Many people
believe the United States is headed in a wrong
direction and they are wondering what can be done
to save the ship before it sinks. Of course, the
beauty of democracy is that each person can
choose whether or not to engage in political
activism. To complicate matters, there is such a
wide range of issues embroiled in standing
conflict that this makes it hard to know what to
do. Whether or not to engage in political
activism is a personal matter and ultimately, I
suppose it depends on the issues and issues that
concern you the most. I do not have a view on
political activism that I would like to share,
however, so please take a few moments to consider
the following because I find this topic to be a
serious one.
Before I begin, you should
know that I am not politically indifferent or a
political fatalist. I do not accept the premise
that what will be – will be. I believe that
“we the people” have an obligation to
support and help direct our democracy. Recent
history proves that people in this country can
have influence over their government and we can
improve our nation’s direction when
enough people get involved. For example, the
civil rights movement of the 1960s and the equal
wage for equal work movement of the 1970s prove
that grass roots reform is possible. A few years
ago, I became active in county government to
bring about zoning. It was a lengthy process, but
it was well worth the effort. So, yes, I know
that people can improve the function of
government at local, state, and federal levels.
The Basics
By definition, a democracy
is a society of free people, that is, they are
free to govern themselves. Our forefathers
recognized the enormous gift of freedom that God
had granted to this nation, but they also knew
that this freedom was contingent on many factors
that are why amendments were soon added to the
U.S. Constitution. The U.S. democracy has been
one of the finest forms of governments on Earth,
but all forms of government are vulnerable to the
same fatal virus. This virus is man’s sinful
nature.
A free society can only
exist for as long as a majority of its
individuals embrace the highest standards of
conduct and exalt “right doing.” No
government, including a democracy, can exist
without the rule of law. Therefore, the product
of a free society is simple: To live well, its
leaders and citizens must individually
embrace and uphold the principles codified in the
last six commandments of the Ten Commandments or
society will descend into bribery, scandal,
dishonesty, and violence. (Consider Mexico.) Its
leaders and citizens do not individually
embrace and exalt the moral principles codified
in the last six commandments, political leaders
will have no choice but to expand the dominion of
government by creating more and more laws in
hopes that more control will enable a society to
function. (The United States is a perfect
example.) There is no society without the rule of
law – formally or informally. Even in
Somalia – perhaps the most lawless nation on
Earth having no central government – the
strong rule over the weak and the rich rule over
the poor.
Step back and consider the
process: When a free society becomes degenerate,
ignorant, arrogant, and unwilling to uphold moral
conduct that is honorable in God’s sight,
that society becomes unfit to govern itself.
Legislators see the problems at hand and they
attempt to overcome lawless behavior through
legislation. This process increases the size and
scope of government that is necessary to manage
the deviant behavior of people. Then, to remain
free of government regulations, lobbyists are
employed by the rich to seek special exemptions.
Using bribery and other favors, legislators often
find a way to justify whatever lobbyists want.
Over time, most of the leaders of the U.S.
democracy have become corrupt and abusive and
there is nothing further that God can do with a
nation as a whole. Throwing out the leadership in
Congress en mass is not an option because
having no elders to guide a huge nation would
result in anarchy.
God recorded the history of
Israel in the Bible because He wants everyone to
understand His response to man’s degeneracy.
God has not changed over the centuries and His
politics for dealing with degenerate nations are
changeless. (See Ezekiel 14:12-23.) Take an hour
and read the whole book of Judges. It describes
the seesaw experience of Israel as it vacillated
between a free nation and a nation subservient to
the laws of other nations over a course of about
400 years. God has provided this information in
His Word so that we might understand that He
knows how to deal with mankind. He has a
predictable process.
A free society can only
endure and exist for as long as a large majority
of its people love God and their neighbors
as themselves. What happens when people do not
love God or one another? The process is simple:
Predatory abuse becomes commonplace. We
become suspicious and fearful of one another. In
contrast, when a nation embraces God and His
ideals for human behavior, it will be blessed
with freedom and prosperity. “From heaven
the Lord looks don and sees all mankind; from his
dwelling place he watches all who live on earth
– he who forms the hearts of all, who
considers everything they do. No king is saved by
the size of its army; no warrior escapes by his
great strength. A horse is a vain hope for
deliverance; despite all its great strength it
cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on
those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his
unfailing love, to deliver them from death and
keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for
the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”
(Psalm 33:13-20)
Fatal Virus
Historians cannot fully
explain the fall of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia,
and Rome because there is much more to
the fall of any nation than human beings can see!
Similarly, no man or political party can save a
wicked nation because “no king is saved by
the size of his army” and “ a horse is
a vain hope for deliverance.” The Bible
teaches that a nation is not a manmade entity. A
nation does not have its origin in the will of
men. Every government exists because a divine
mandate brought it to life and God gave it
authority over its subjects. (Romans 13:1) God
sets up kings and takes them down according to
His sovereign authority. (Daniel 2:21;
4:32-37)
Keep in mind, God holds
leaders in public office to a very high standard
of conduct. The same holds true in religious
matters. In recent years, and rightfully so,
millions of Catholics have been embarrassed
because of all the priests who have been accused
of sexually abusing children. The priest violated
the trust of the children, as well as that of
their parishioners. Church and state are not
manmade institutions. “From heaven
the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from
his dwelling place he watches all who live on
earth – he who forms the hearts of all, who
considers everything they do….”
God sets up leaders and He
brings them down (according to divine wisdom)
when they abuse their “God-given”
trust. When a majority of the leaders in a church
or a nation becomes corrupt, God brings the whole
institution down. This explains why governments
appear and disappear. They appear because God has
determined they should exist. They disappear when
God determines they should cease to exist. Unless
the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen
stand guard in vain. (Psalms 127:1)
So, why is every person on
Earth accountable to God? Let us begin by stating
an eternal truth – God hears every word and
sees every act. “The eyes of the Lord are
everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the
good.” (Proverbs 15:3) “For God
will bring every deed into judgment, including
every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
(Ecclesiastes 12:14) “For by your
words you will be acquitted, and by your words
you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37)
Because God sees and hears the sum of everything
taking place on Earth, He knows when a majority
in a nation has rejected righteousness. “There
are six things the Lord hates, seven that are
detestable to him; haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that
devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to
rush to evil, a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”
(Proverbs 6:16-19)
The virus that is rapidly
tearing down the United States of America is our
sinful nature. Increasingly, Americans continue
to yield to their sinful nature. As a country,
the U.S. is accelerating toward destruction
because the sinful nature has gained control. The
Bible says, “The acts of the sinful
nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity
and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred,
discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as
I did before, that those who like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruits of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no
law.” (Galatians 5:19-23)
What causes people to become
selfish and hateful? What causes people to become
greedy? What motivates people to lie and steal?
What causes people to take bribes? What causes
people to constantly condemn others, putting
every political decision in the worst possible
light? What moves people to engage in sexual
immorality? What cause children to abandon their
parents and parents to abandon their children?
The answer is simple. The sinful nature is a
fatal virus. The sinful nature refuses to take
responsibility for its actions. (Genesis
3:9-19) It tempts human beings to
sin and once restraint (and responsibility) is
cast aside, a free society quickly becomes a mad
society. Look around at the madness. People
become angry and protest. They become frustrated
and mobs form, committing violent acts. Yet the
root problem remains, which is our sinful nature.
Those controlled by the sinful nature will do (a)
whatever they think they can get away with, or
(b) whatever it takes to get what they want.
Legislators see the proclivity. They know there
is a little earthly reason to do what is
honorable, but they can make more laws to stop
harmful behavior. This is how it was in Noah’s
day. “The Lord saw how great man’s
wickedness on the earth had become, and every
inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he
had made man on the earth, and his heart was
filled with pain.” (Genesis 6:5,6)
Jesus understands man’s
sinful nature. He knows that the sinful nature of
man always overtakes society. He knows the
sinful nature of man always overtakes
society. As the process spirals downward over
time, the norms of society sink lower and lower.
Have you noticed over the past fifty years how
there is more profanity, more nudity, more
pleasure, more obesity, more disease, more
alcohol and substance abuse, more luxury and
materialism, and increasing emphasis on sex and
everything else which the sinful nature craves?
Obviously, the sinful nature has gained control. “The
sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled
by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans
8:7,8, italics mine) Consider this: The sinful
nature enables people to justify hurting others
to get what they want. Even the former director
of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, admitted
in a recent TV interview that capitalism cannot
limit greed because a greedy person will find a
loophole.
Increasingly, the motto of
corporate America has become “Get all that
the market will bear.” But, Jesus made it a
more significant motto when He said, “This
is my command:
Love on another.” (John
15:17) Speaking about the last days, Jesus said: “Because
of the increase of wickedness, the love of most
will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12) In
terms of money, this text works in both
directions. Cold-hearted corporate leaders will
financially gouge fellow citizens and feel
nothing – “It’s not personal,”
they say, “we’re just doing business.”
On the other hand, cold-hearted individuals will
seek a loan and lie about their finances,
borrowing far more than they can repay. Paul
warned the believers in Colosse, “Put to
death, therefore, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity,
lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.”
(Colossians 3:5,6)
Save Me From My Brother
When a majority of people in
a democracy come to a place where they no longer
love God or one another and become controlled by
their sinful natures, they become unfit to
self-government. Therefore, the magnificent
freedoms granted to a free society must be
reduced in order to protect brother from brother
so that society can continue to function.
Even the newest member in
Congress can see the problem. Even though he or
she may not fully understand the sinful nature,
legislators clearly see the corporate effects of
sin and they have no tools but legislation and
law to enforcement to stop predatory abuses. For
example, Congress enacted the Credit Card Act of
2009 to reduce the predatory practices of credit
card banks. Why would banks do this to their
customers? (A) They could get away with it. (B)
Everyone else was doing it. (C) It was a fast way
to make a lot of money. (D) All of the above.
Obviously, the correct answer is (D). On the
other hand, how many people do you know who are
willing to charge the limit on their credit cards
knowing they plan to declare bankruptcy?
The Need for New Laws Will
Never End
As a free society descends
into the chaos of lawless behaviors, freedoms
necessarily must be reduced to protect ourselves
from one another. Consider this: The 108th
Congress of the United States (2003-2004) passed
480 new federal laws. The 109th
Congress of the United States (2005-2006) passed
482 new laws. The 110th Congress
(2007-2008) passed 460 new laws. So far, the 111th
Congress (2009-2010) has passed 160 laws. The
number of federal laws created in the past six
and half years (1,582) speaks volumes. Almost,
1,600 additional laws (not counting approximately
600 new laws within each of the fifty states
during the same period) prove that we need
increasing protection from one another. There is
a deadly virus that is killing our free society.
This virus is the sinful nature of man.
Each person who listens to
the news knows that the U.S. economy is like a
run away train and Congress cannot stop it.
Congress attempted to stop this train in 1990
with a law called “Paygo.” Thus
far, Congress passed the Paygo law three times:
1990, 2007, and 2010. History says, “First
enacted as part of the Budget Enforcement Act of
1990 (which was incorporated as Title XIII of the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990), PAYGO
required all increases in direct spending or
revenue decreases to be offset by other spending
decreases or revenue increases. It was thought
that this would control increases in deficit
spending…. After the expiration of PAYGO [in
2002]. Budget deficits returned. The federal
surplus shrank from 236.2 billion in 2000 to
128.2 billion in 2001, then 157.8 billion deficit
in 2002 – the last year statutory PAYGO was
in effect. The deficit increased to 377.6 billion
in 2003 and 412.7 billion in 2004. The federal
deficit, excluding trust funds, was 537.3 billion
in fiscal year 2006. In the fist 6 years of
President Bush’s term, with a Republican
controlled Congress, the federal debt increased
by $3 trillion [to 8.5 trillion].” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAYGO
, insertions and bold emphasis mine.) Since 2007,
a Democratically controlled Congress has
increased the federal debt to more than $12
trillion. President Obama signed a new Paygo Law
on February 12, 2010, but this law will not stop
the runaway train. The U.S. deficit during 2009
ballooned to 1.42 trillion. On March 20, 2010,
the US Congressional Budget Office projected a
deficit of 1.8 trillion for 2010. Can the U.S. be
able to avoid national bankruptcy? This is the
question which political groups like the Tea
Party and others are debating, but before you
answer, go back and take a quick look at the
social consequences of forced austerity in the
tiny nation of Greece (who has run out of money
and defaulted on its loans). Angry citizens
protest in the streets!
The problem is that an
economy is like an airplane in flight. If the
airplane flies too slow, it stalls and falls to
the ground and everyone inside dies. If it goes
too fast, the wings tear off and it falls to the
ground and everyone inside dies. If our
government should suddenly stop increasing the
deficit (slow down the airplane), it would have
to more than double our taxes to pay for current
obligations. If this happened, the economy would
implode. So, what happens when
several million unemployed people and ten of
millions who receive some form of government
assistance each month suddenly receive no money? How
safe would America be? How angry will people
become? Can you imagine long lines of people
standing outside Wal-Mart begging for food? Can
you imagine being robbed at gunpoint for
groceries as you exit a food store? Can you
imaginer gangs holding “gated communities”
hostage within their gates until their financial
demands are met? Can you imagine
hospitals and doctors offices closed because
there is no insurance and people cannot pay
actual costs? When the government tells a huge
number of people they will no longer receive
government assistance, what choices will they
have for survival? Consider Greece again (even
tough there has been a temporary respite for
Greece by the European Union, the drama is not
over – keep an eye on it).
In Closing
JoAnn, the continent of
Africa has been on public display for several
hundred years. There have been an endless round
of governments whose leaders started out with
good intentions, but they quickly fell into
horrible abuses because the virus of the sinful
nature is everywhere. We cannot count the number
of cycles that African nations have gone from
limited freedom to totalitarian dictatorship. There
is no earthly remedy in Africa and America when
the citizens of government have no love for each
other. This is why generally speaking;
political activism in the United States is of a
secondary concern to me. There are always two
sides to a controversy and wisdom dictates that
we carefully consider both sides of the conflict.
If it appears that a good solution is possible, I
think activism should be encouraged. If a better
solution is not clearly possible, then activism
is like starting a war. The danger is that no one
can know the outcome at the beginning. In
closing, please consider these three issues:
1. First, Jesus was not
a political activist. Jesus was a spiritual
activist. Jesus understood the sinful nature and
this is why His ministry focused on changing
people’s cold hearts into hearts of love.
Slavery was very common in Christ’s time and
women had no rights. The Jews hated the Romans
and the Romans hated the Jews. Yet, Jesus did not
start a movement to fee Israel, nor did He
condemn slavery or seek equal rights for women.
Rather, Jesus went to the core of the problem. He
showed people how to love one another for love
can overcome the virus of the sinful nature. He
showed what the human heart can be and should be.
Jesus promised, “The meek will inherit the
Earth.” A free society is coming, a society
truly free from the virus of sin! In the
meantime, Paul wrote, “Keep your lives
free from the love of money and be content with
what you have, because God has said, ‘Never
will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
(Hebrews 13:5)
2. Second, most people
do not understand our prophetic perspective. (I
know that you understand what I mean by this.) We
know that the Bible states that the book of
Daniel was sealed up until the time of the end.
(Daniel 12:4,9) After reading my book, Daniel:
Unlocked for the final generation, you know
that I am convinced that we arte living at the
time of the end. This does not necessarily mean
that we should be politically indifferent; it
just means that political changes (whatever may
be achieved) will be short lived. We are living
at a time when sin and rebellion has reached
critical mass. For reasons presented in my book
on the Seven Trumpets, I believe that the world
passed the point of no return in 1994. This means
corporately speaking, that spiritual reformation
and repentance will not be possible until the
wrath of God begins (the seven trumpets of
Revelation). As I see it, the whole world
is on a runaway freight train – not just the
USA. No man or political party can save us from
the painful consequences that are coming. Our
problems are far too complex and there is no
human remedy. The Bible says, “…no
king is saved by the size of his army and a horse
is a vain hope for deliverance, despite its great
strength it cannot save.” (Psalm
33:16,17)
3. Finally, the best
thing that any citizen can do at this late hour
is to embrace the Lord and obey His commands. “But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.”
(Matthew 6:33,34) Turn
off the radio and refuse to listen or engage in
political discussions. Pray for our political
leaders. Turn off the TV and spend more time
studying your Bible. Visit a shut-in or a sick
person. Help a neighbor. Go out of your way to
show kindness and compassion. Make an effort to
help abused women. Send a gift to charity. Read a
story to a child. Walk with the Lord, pay
attention to whatever God sets before you. Get
out and stay out of debt. Do not cheat your
employer. Give him a full day’s work. Tell
the truth in all cases. Jesus said, “Love
one another.” This is the revolution that we
really need. “And do this, understanding
the present time. The hour has come for you to
wake up from your slumber, because our salvation
is nearer now than when we first believed. The
night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So
let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on
the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in
the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not
in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in
dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves
with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think
about how to gratify the desires of the sinful
nature.” (Romans 13:11-14)
Larry Wilson
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